Tepi
The tepi is a type of blowpipe traditionally used in parts of the Amazon rainforest to administer rapé and other shamanic snuffs. Unlike the shorter self-applicator known as a kuripe, the tepi is designed for one person to blow powdered snuff into the nostrils of another.[1][2]
Description
Tepis are usually made from materials such as bamboo, wood, or bone, and are significantly longer than kuripes.[3] Their length allows one individual (the giver) to align one end with their mouth and the other with the recipient’s nostril, enabling the forceful insufflation of powdered snuff.[4]
Use
The tepi is commonly employed in ritual contexts where rapé plays a role in healing, divination, or initiation practices.[5] The act of administering snuff through the tepi is often considered an exchange involving both substance and intention. In some ethnographic accounts, this ritualised blowing is described as a means of transmitting spiritual power or healing energy, though such interpretations vary across cultural groups.[6]
Variations
Tepis vary in length and ornamentation. Some examples are simple and functional, while others are decorated with carvings or symbolic motifs. Certain designs feature double-nostril configurations, allowing for simultaneous administration to both nostrils.[4]
Cultural significance
In several Amazonian societies, rapé and its administration through instruments such as the tepi form part of wider shamanic systems involving plant medicines and ritual specialists.[1][2] These practices have attracted the attention of anthropologists, ethnobotanists, and historians, who have noted their role in ceremonial life, healing rituals, and the transmission of cultural knowledge.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wilbert, Johannes (1987). Tobacco and Shamanism in South America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Schultes, Richard Evans (1984). "Fifteen years of study of psychoactive snuffs of South America: 1967–1982—A review". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 11 (1): 17–32. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(84)90032-4.
- ↑ de Smet, Peter A. G. M. (1985). "A multidisciplinary overview of intoxicating snuff rituals in the western hemisphere". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 13 (1): 3–49. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(85)90049-9.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Russell, Andrew; Rahman, Ebsen (2015). The Master Plant: Tobacco in Lowland South America. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781472589857 Check
|isbn=value: checksum (help). Search this book on
- ↑ Fotiou, Evgenia (2012). "Working with 'La Medicina': Elements of healing in contemporary Ayahuasca rituals". Anthropology of Consciousness. 23 (1): 6–27. doi:10.1111/j.1556-3537.2011.01049.x.
- ↑ Jauregui, X.; Clavo, Z. M.; Jovel, E. M.; Pardo-de-Santayana, M. (2011). "Plantas con madre: plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 134 (3): 739–752. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2011.01.042.
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